Kerala polls: Nearly 50 per cent voter turnout recorded by 1 pm

Kerala's 140 assemblies witnessed with 50 per cent of the voters casting their votes by 1 pm, the EC said. This election will decide whether the LDF will get a straight third term, or if the UDF makes a comeback, or if BJP springs a surprise in an otherwise bipolar battle.

Thiruvananthapuram: Brisk voting was witnessed on Thursday to the elections to 140 Assembly segments in Kerala with 50 per cent of the voters casting their votes by 1 pm, the EC said.
The crucial elections will decide whether the ruling LDF will get a straight third term, or if the UDF makes a comeback, or if BJP springs a surprise in an otherwise bipolar battle.
According to Election Commission (EC) figures, by 1 pm, 49.70 per cent of the 2.71 crore voters had cast their vote.

The ruling LDF is fighting to retain power, banking on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s model of governance and welfare. The Congress-led UDF is vying to regain power, seeking to end a decade of Left rule in the state. Amidst this traditionally bipolar contest, the BJP-led NDA is looking to disrupt the duopoly of LDF and UDF and aims to translate its growing vote share into a decisive presence in the state assembly.

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The turnout is witnessing a steady increase from 16.23 per cent at 9 am to 33.28 per cent at 11 am and 49.70 per cent at 1pm, according to EC figures. If the trend continues, the turnout of 90 per cent plus that the EC is aiming for, might be achieved.The figures also showed that Ernakulam district continued to lead with the highest polling percentage of 52.94 per cent and constituency-wise, Thripunithura topped with 58.09 per cent. The lowest turnout came in Ponnani with 44.52 per cent (all 1 pm data).

Polling in all the 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala commenced at 7 am. The political leaders and prominent personalities who cast their votes in the morning included CM Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and actor Mohanlal. Polling was carried out amidst tight security arrangements which included deployment of over 76,000 security personnel and live monitoring of the election process by an extensive webcasting system.